Oz vs Pole: Ice Wins

Oz vs Pole – ice wins again, according to Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, 21 April 2010. In spite of repeated warnings that the Arctic Ice cap is melting away, over the last four years polar adventurers have been overwhelmed by ice and extreme freezing temperatures, and have had to be rescued before they died of frostbite and hypothermia.

In 2007 Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, had to call off an expedition designed to provide photographic evidence of global warming after the extreme cold caused frostbite and drained their batteries. They were so convinced the ice was melting they were prepared to don body suits and swim through areas where polar ice has melted. According to a Washington Post article about their rescue, "They were experiencing temperatures that weren't expected with global warming.”

Last year British “eco-explorer” Pen Hadow and his team had to be rescued from extreme sub-zero temperatures, and the year before that “eco-adventurer” Lewis Gordon Pugh was thwarted by 1000km of ice between him and the North Pole. According to Bolt, Pugh “planned to kayak 1200km to the North Pole to raise awareness of how global warming had allegedly melted the ice sheet so badly that scientists warned the North Pole that summer could be ice-free.”

The most recent aborted polar expedition is Western Australian adventurer Tom Smitheringale, who was attempting to trek alone to the North Pole, but was rescued by Canadian soldiers after falling through an ice floe and suffering frostbite. Smitheringale’s aim was to raise money for a medical charity, but he does have an article about global warming causing the northern polar ice to melt in the background information on his website. Andrew Bolt commented: “The fact is that when Arctic rescuers must save more people from global warming stunts than from global warming itself, it's time to heed again the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’”

Editorial Comment: Normally northern Polar ice starts to decrease as the Northern Hemisphere winter ends. However, this year the ice was still growing at the end of March. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, “Arctic sea ice reached its maximum extent for the year on March 31 at 15.25 million square kilometers (5.89 million square miles). This was the latest date for the maximum Arctic sea ice extent since the start of the satellite record in 1979.” See “Cold snap causes late-season growth spurt,” 6 April 2010, here

Whilst we are pleased no one died in any of these failed expeditions, we can’t help but laugh at the extreme measures people will take in the name of man-made global warming. We will quote a higher authority than Franklin D. Roosevelt, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (Ref. climate, sea-ice, weather)